Nov. 11, 2017, 5:00 a.m.

Why: While you were stuck in traffic, Los Angeles passed its Peak Automotive moment. So if you're alert to where the L.A. Metro Rail system's subways and light-rail cars can take you, you're probably saving time, finding fun and recognizing the story of a great urban transformation. Take the Red Line from the San Fernando Valley to Hollywood and miss the crunch on the 101. Take the Gold Line from Chinatown to Pasadena and miss the crunch on the 110. Take the Expo Line from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica and miss the crunch on the 10. Whatever route you take, you'll be joining a great urban transformation.

What: In 1993, the Metro people -- formally, the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority -- opened their first subway segment, a few miles of the Red Line between downtown and Hollywood. Now there are 93 light-rail and subway stations along 105 miles of track, including the beach-friendly Expo Line Santa Monica segment that opened in 2016. Bikes are allowed on Metro Rail trains any time (with a few rules, of course).

And there's more coming. Between now and 2024, the Purple Line is scheduled to reach 9 miles west from Hollywood to Westwood, making for easy access to LACMA and UCLA in a zone often plagued by dismal traffic.

Why: From the wilds of western Fallbrook to the shores of Oceanside, this is the biggest Marine base on the West Coast. And it's yours. As a civilian, you can bowl at Leatherneck Lanes, ride a horse from Stepp Stables, hunt, fish, golf and suit up for weekend paintball combat for ages 10 and up.

What: Camp Pendleton goes back to 1942. Most civilian Californians think of it as a vast forbidden zone that separates San Diego and Orange counties. And it does cover about 195 square miles of bush-covered coastal hills (and a few lakes). But with just a little advance planning, you can make parts of it your playground. What surprised me most was the chance to fight mock battles (using paintball gear) every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The paintball/Airsoft/Splatmaster territory covers more than 30 acres, including "two close-combat action houses with 15+ rooms, a village marketplace, and real military tanks and vehicles," according to a promotional website.

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Nov. 9, 2017, 5:00 a.m.

Why: The Santa Cruz Boardwalk is a throwback to the days when amusement parks peppered the beaches of California. Now only a few are left, often in barely recognizable form (Belmont Park in San Diego, for instance). But Santa Cruz, whose first casino opened in 1904, still has some gritty magic going on.

What: The boardwalk's attractions include the wooden Giant Dipper roller coaster (opened in 1924); about three dozen rides and attractions; assorted games; wacky snack food; and a carousel from 1911. It's all arrayed along a mile of sandy beachfront, with the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf (whose pilings are beloved by sea lions) about 1,000 feet to the west.

Some consider this boardwalk the oldest amusement part in the state. The coaster and carousel were declared national historic landmarks in 1987, the same year that the film "The Lost Boys" made splendid and disquieting use of the site as a venue for teenage vampires. These days the movie is a cult favorite; Visit Santa Cruz in 2017 published a "Lost Boys" locations map.

Nov. 8, 2017, 5:00 a.m.

Why: You can almost hear the “MASH” choppers coming over the ridge at Malibu Creek State Park, which features hiking trails to the show’s outdoor site, shady canyons and plentiful creeks and ponds.

What:Malibu Creek State Park, in the Calabasas area north of Los Angeles, offers a vast selection of hiking options, including some that touch TV history and some ranch buildings once owned by Ronald Reagan.

With craggy cliffs, creeks and cool, dark ponds, it invites exploration, and probably appeals more to children than most trail systems do. Along the way, look for bundles of mistletoe hanging from the sycamores.

(Jenna Schoenefeld / For The Times)

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Nov. 7, 2017, 5:00 a.m.

Why: The food, a spicy marriage of Korean and Mexican cuisine, tastes great. And the backstory is the stuff that contemporary California is made of: Young buddies hatch a scheme, rig up a truck, start tweeting and build an empire by fusing Korean, Mexican and web cultures. Now co-founder Roy Choi is one of the city's most famous chefs.

What: Born in 2008, the Kogi empire now includes three trucks (code names Roja, Verde and Naranja, which roam the coast, the valleys and Orange County); three taco stands; and three Chego! restaurants. The blackjack quesadilla is a potent introduction to the Kogi way: flour tortilla, pork bellies, Korean chili paste, cheddar cheese, Jalapenos and a host of supporting ingredients.

As Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold writes in his latest list of 101 favorite L.A. restaurants, Kogi "is cheap, unbelievably delicious and unmistakably from Los Angeles, food that makes you feel plugged into the rhythms of the city just by eating it." Accordingly, in October when L.A.'s Eric Garcetti made the traditional mayoral World Series wager with his Houston counterpart, he offered up Kogi BBQ and Golden Road brew if the Astros should win.

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Nov. 6, 2017, 5:00 a.m.

Why: Because the Pechanga casino, by some measures the largest Indian gambling resort in California, will give you that Vegas sensation without requiring a drive into Nevada. Or because the Pechanga resort is a milestone in the long, dysfunctional relationship between California's native peoples and its colonizers.

What: You name a game, they offer it. They bring in performers such as Smokey Robinson, Ali Wong and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. They call bingo in a vast upstairs room full of blue and green fiber optic lights. It's Vegas -- except that you're in Riverside County, among the rock-studded hills, wine country and Temecula suburbs. And in the display windows along the casino walls, you see baskets, pots, bows, arrows, arrowheads and harsh old photos -- reminders that this is a reservation where life was hard.

You probably won't quintuple your money (as I did in 20 seconds at the slots). But you will be reminded just how much the world has changed since 1884, when Helen Hunt Jackson decried Indian suffering in her novel "Ramona;" and since 1987, when the nearby Cabazon and Morongo bands of Mission Indians won the U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively launched casino gaming on California tribal lands.

Nov. 5, 2017, 5:00 a.m.

Why: Because who says pie isn’t a meal? Apparently many of us can eat pie all day long, especially when visiting the apple-centric and scenic hamlet of Julian.

What: This might be asmall spot in the mountains of San Diego County, but there’s a lot going on. You could explore mining history (gold was found here in the 1870s and Eagle Mining Co. offers tours); take an apple or pear orchard tour; hike and picnic amid the pines and manzanitas; or shop collectibles and crafts as you stroll past historic homes and old-time stores. But for some of us, Julian is fundamentally a chance for a dessert tour.

In the early 1900s, growers found Julian a fine place for apple trees. Today, it’s all about the products made with apples – especially the pie.

Nov. 4, 2017, 6:00 a.m.

Why: Mindfulness is hard, monkey-mind the bane of modern life. Constant interruptions from work, families and phones keep us from our true selves, or so the mystics say. But what about – wait, hold on a second, oh yeah – just completing a thought without distraction? Some getaways promise peace and quiet. Tassajara, the famed Zen center located deep inside the Santa Lucia Mountains, delivers. Its zendo, cottages, baths and trails are a tonic for what ails us.

What: From late April or May through September, visitors join students and monks who live year-round at the end of a 14-mile dirt road that rises out of the Carmel Valley, snakes along a precipitous ridge line and drops into a beautiful sycamore- and oak-clad canyon. It’s Shangri-La with a California twist. Reservations are made through the San Francisco Zen Center, and while the atmosphere may seem a little forbidding (no cell coverage, limited electricity, a modest dress code, no pets), the staff is friendly and hospitable. The 2018 season will be April 26-Sept. 9.

Accommodations range from cottages of river stone to clapboard cabins, from a yurt to a dormitory with communal dining. (Tassajara is famed for its breads and lavish vegetarian fare.)

Why: Now you can immerse yourself in the Midcentury Modern house that famed photographer Julius Shulman vaulted to icon status, a symbol of 1960s sophistication. His alluring black-and-white photo shows two well-dressed young women lounging in a glass-walled living room while the house appears to precariously perch on the edge of a mountain.

What: Pass through the front door of architect Pierre Koenig's Stahl House — also known as Case Study House No. 22 — and prepare to gasp. Before you is a dazzling view that sweeps uninterrupted across the Los Angeles basin, from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica Bay and, on a clear day, beyond to Catalina Island. Laid out immediately at your feet is a courtyard consisting of a sleek, angular pool surrounded by smooth concrete. This is the first “room" you enter.

Wandering around the rest of the site doesn’t take long. It’s a small two-bedroom/two-bathroom. What does take time is absorbing the visuals of the place. The structure is post-and-beam but built with steel (instead of wood), glass and concrete. Because most of the walls are windows, it makes for jaw-dropping panoramic views and light-filled rooms. My suggestion is as soon as you finish exploring the place, take a seat somewhere and just gaze for as long as you possibly can. Then exhale. It’s tranquil up there.

Nov. 2, 2017, 6:00 a.m.

Why: It’s amazing how few L.A.-area restaurants celebrate the outdoors. Geoffrey’s in Malibu does. There’s hardly a bad table in this special occasion venue, where the ocean is almost as close as your wine glass.

What: A little fancy, yet hardly stuffy, Geoffrey’s has long been a go-to Malibu restaurant for anniversaries, proposals, birthdays and wedding showers.

(Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times)

The patio restaurant is super busy in summer and over the holidays, making a warm November day an excellent time to go for a leisurely lunch – it stays open through the afternoon, with a brief pause from 3:30 to 4 p.m., as it resets for dinner. But linger at your table; this isn’t a place to rush you out.